Sustainable Development Success Stories
|
CSD-8: Sustainable Development Success Stories |
| Location |
Ghana, Upper-East Region |
| Responsible Organisation |
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Co financed by World Food Programme and the Government of Ghana. |
| Description |
With poor soils, erratic rainfall and one of the highest population densities, Ghana’s Upper East Region is the country’s most impoverished area. In 1987, 97 percent of area residents lived below the poverty line; frequent droughts and high food insecurity forced many men to migrate south seeking work as seasonal labourers. One clear solution to achieve greater food security and allow farmers to earn a living from their land during the dry season was to use low-lying lands as reservoirs by building dykes and dams. Many water-capturing structures were built during the fifties and sixties in Ghana. However, despite rehabilitation works financed by the World Bank between 1977 and 1985, by 1989 most had again become inoperative due to lack of maintenance. Thus, from the onset, IFAD’s Upper-East Region Land Conservation and Smallholder Rehabilitation Project (1991-1997) was mainly concerned with mobilizing communities to sustain the results of rehabilitation and to actually manage the use of water in the long-term. Consulting with area residents and traditional community leaders, the project identified the sites to be rehabilitated as well as the future beneficiaries to take part in the work and assume responsibility for site maintenance in the future. As work progressed, water user associations were created at each dam site (built around informal structures already in place when possible,) to take over all aspects of project management in the long-term. Today, they meet regularly to decide on water distribution within the irrigated areas; maintenance work to be done on the structures; canals and surrounding replanted areas; and, to assign tasks among members. They draw up by-laws that are submitted to the district assemblies and they collect water levies for future repairs. Through the associations, members receive training in technical and organizational skills. By improving water resources and their use, this project allowed farmers to remain on and invest in the land, increasing local food security and reversing the cycle of neglect and land degradation that was ensuing. |
| Issues Addressed |
Land resources management, sustainable agriculture, trade, economic growth, poverty, capacity building. |
| Results Achieved |
Household food security was greatly increased without farmers being forced to migrate for work. Farmers can now produce crops with a high market value and earn more. Water users' associations were created and they, in turn, have developed a model for community self-reliance in managing water resources and irrigation systems - a model that can be replicated elsewhere. |
| Lessons Learned |
The evaluation concluded that a number of project activities building on traditional mechanisms, community-based livestock services, and formation of water user groups have good potential for being replicated. This project was closed at the end of 1997. A second phase has been approved for implementation. It is seeking to increase and sustain the farm incomes of poor rural families through irrigation, improved technology and income generating activities. It will also develop social infrastructure with a view to improve their living conditions and environment. |
| Contacts |
Farhana Haque-Rahman |